Restaurant SS's:This restaurant has a vestibule that juts out. There are doors from the outside to the vestibule on the N and W walls, the E wall is 2 doors between the vestibule and the restaurant, and the south wall is plain glass. Some SS's had tied their dogs to one of the east wall's door handles. The dogs were inside the vestibule, and a little girl was crying because every time she tried to leave, the dogs would jump up on her. They were friendly dogs, just wanting to play, which is what I'm sure the SSs would offer as their defense. But to tie your dogs inside the vestibule? Where all the customers had to step over and around them to come and go?There was no table in the restaurant that had a view of the vestibule, so it wasn't because they were keeping an eye on the dogs. It was a balmy 74 degrees, so the dogs would have been fine tied up in a car with the windows down, and because the restaurant wasn't busy, it would have been a piece of cake for the SSs to have asked for a table where they could see their car. There was an iron fence to which the doors could have been tied (admittedly, the terrain around it wasn't very cozy for dogs), and several handicapped parking signs; there was even a bike rack on a bit of greenspace! Instead, they tied up their dogs in the spot most likely to experience solar heating, not to mention to annoy other customers. I wondered how many dog-phobic people had turned away rather than eating there as planned.

I'd say the SS action was taking the dogs someplace where they weren't actually welcome (i.e. vet, groomer, Pet Smart) in addition to putting the animals in an unsafe place.

But just had to add -- it really doesn't have to be that warm outside before the inside of a car becomes dangerously hot for an animal left inside. If there's sun, even at 60 degrees, the car's interior can get over 100 in about a half hour (and continues to climb if more time). Stanford University ran an experiment that found that regardless of ambient temp, if the sun is out, there's an average 40 degree increase in temp inside the car in a half hour and cracking windows and/or running the a/c before parking didn't make a difference.

I agree under most circumstances. When I went back to my car, which was parked in the sun and had the windows all the way up, my car was not at all uncomfortable to get into, so I don't believe that on this particular day and in this particular location, the dogs would have been in trouble if they'd been tied up to something inside the car, with the windows all the way down. I'm sure the answer was that they wanted to protect their car from passing vandals, but they could have parked it, asked for a table where they could see it, and been prepared to run if they saw anyone harassing their dogs or damaging the car. As it was, they had no idea if people were being kind or cruel to their dogs in the vestibule. I wouldn't ever put my animals at the mercy of the general public.

Pod.Dogs may like going places with their people, but I believe they're terrified of being taken to a strange place, tied up, and left. I was once attacked by a dog on campus who was apparently defending his friend; the other dog was tied up but the dog that came after me had slipped his collar. I was just walking along the sidewalk when this dog charged out from under some shrubbery and nearly took a bite out of my briefcase. When I called the campus cops, students were shouting comments like 'leave the dogs alone, cop!' The cop was implying to me that it wasn't a dangerous situation, and went over to 'make friends' with the dog...who charged him aggressively and bit him. No way can you convince me that wasn't a dog who was petrified at having his owner leave him in an unfamiliar place while he went to class.

They may have been traveling and couldn't. The few times we traveled with our dog, she was left in the car, windows open, a special short leash fastened through the center back seat belt so that she could stick her nose out the window but not get out. And we got the table nearest the window, so we could keep an eye on her. I think once or twice someone went outside to reassure her that she hadn't been abandoned. One day when it was REALLY hot, I stayed in the car with her, engine running from time to time to use the AC. DH got my lunch in a to-go box and brought it out to me.

Logged

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Common sense is not a gift, but a curse. Because thenyou have to deal with all the people who don't have it. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

One of my very good friends (Beth) was taking an exercise class and had to keep checking her phone when she got texts. Complete Stranger (CS) got nosy:

CS: Hey, why do you keep checking your phone?

Beth: Oh, my son has special needs and the school has to be able to reach me if there's a problem.

CS (even though it was none of her business): What's wrong with him?

Beth (used to the question, even though people should know better) gave a quick rundown of his condition. Basically: it's rare, it's severe, it's degenerative, and it's terminal, and it causes a wide variety of problems. She's got a thirty-second spiel and most people are so stunned by the "terminal" part that they back off. Not CS.

CS gives Beth a wholly unsolicited hug, even though they're both sweaty from exercising and Beth is giving off "why the heck are you trying to touch me" vibes. Then says, "Oh honey, God has a plan for you and your son! Don't worry!"

Beth: (internally) What, is my son DYING part of this great plan? And how would you know? I'm pretty sure you get your own book of the Bible if you're in that direct contact! (out loud) *pointed silence*

CS (ignoring the obvious uncomfortable silence entirely): But why would the school be calling you?

Beth (wanting to get away from CS but can't because of the format of the class): Sometimes he has problems with his breathing, and they need to let me know if he's has an episode.

CS: Wow, I don't know if I agree with that! Why do they let kids like that go to school, anyway?

Beth told me she walked away before she hauled off and hit the lady . . . I know we don't normally condone violence here on eHell, but I can't say that I would have blamed her

SS in the 20 items or less lane at Walmart:I got in the line, and there were 2 people ahead of me. The first one checked out quickly, and then the next one stepped up with a box of packages of chewing gum. No problem, right?Then the cashier rang up one package of gum. The lady swiped her debit card, typed in her pin number and punched the cash back button. The cashier opened her drawer, counted out $100 to her, closed the drawer and handed her the receipt. Then she picked up another package of gum....After the third package, I couldn't help saying, "Are you ringing all those up separately?" (Maybe I should have kept my mouth closed, but this is the express checkout.) The cashier said, "This is the only way my supervisor said we could do this." and picked up the next package. By this time, there were several people behind me, and I'm looking around for another line. After 7 or 8 transactions, the customer finally realized that what she was doing was really holding things up and took what she had and left. The cashier told me she wanted $1900 from her debit card. I can't imagine assuming that the express lane at Walmart would have that much cash at once, or that doing 19 individual transactions in the express lane or any other lane. That's what banks are for. I guess it there could have been some kind of emergency, but the supervisor could have opened a lane to help her, or sent her to customer service.

SS in the 20 items or less lane at Walmart:I got in the line, and there were 2 people ahead of me. The first one checked out quickly, and then the next one stepped up with a box of packages of chewing gum. No problem, right?Then the cashier rang up one package of gum. The lady swiped her debit card, typed in her pin number and punched the cash back button. The cashier opened her drawer, counted out $100 to her, closed the drawer and handed her the receipt. Then she picked up another package of gum....After the third package, I couldn't help saying, "Are you ringing all those up separately?" (Maybe I should have kept my mouth closed, but this is the express checkout.) The cashier said, "This is the only way my supervisor said we could do this." and picked up the next package. By this time, there were several people behind me, and I'm looking around for another line. After 7 or 8 transactions, the customer finally realized that what she was doing was really holding things up and took what she had and left. The cashier told me she wanted $1900 from her debit card. I can't imagine assuming that the express lane at Walmart would have that much cash at once, or that doing 19 individual transactions in the express lane or any other lane. That's what banks are for. I guess it there could have been some kind of emergency, but the supervisor could have opened a lane to help her, or sent her to customer service.

She should have been sent to customer service or checked out by the supervisor. That is what normally happens.

It sounds oddly like the supervisor was being an SS and didn't want to bother, so she told the cashier to do it (a large sum of money would require an explanation/permission - cashiers can't do that. OTOH, multiple small sums for the same customer might not be noticed. But I'd love to be a fly on the wall if the store manager picked that day to look closely at the reports!)

Logged

You are only young once. After that you have to think up some other excuse.

I live in an apartment complex that has basically a loop road with parking to either side. All residents have one assigned, covered spot. The speed limit inside the complex is 10 mph, and they have fairly significant speed bumps every few hundred feet (significant enough that almost everyone has to go slower than 10 mph over the speed bumps to avoid serious jostling). So if you drive in this complex at a time when there are other cars, probably somebody is going to be slower than you want to at least some of the time, and people will be peeling off regularly to park.

My assigned spot is on the end of the covered structure, so there's a post on one side of it. Because it's to the left as you enter, and the post is on the far side of the spot, there's a sort of specific approach I have to take in order to pull in straight the first time. If I misjudge it, I sometimes have to do a three-point turn to avoid hitting the post. So I typically slow down a bit and move as far to the right of the driving lane as I can before pulling in.

Yesterday, there was another resident who was so incredibly impatient driving behind me that he whipped around on my left right before I started my turn. I had my turn signal on, so it's not like it wasn't clear what I was doing. And seriously...I've been pulling into this exact same spot daily for the past 6 years. He took longer to pull around me (and almost cause an accident) than it would have taken to just wait for me to park. I get that it's annoying to be this.close to getting home and have to wait for people to slowly go over speed bumps and park, but them's the breaks when you live in an apartment complex with a few hundred residents.

SS in the 20 items or less lane at Walmart:I got in the line, and there were 2 people ahead of me. The first one checked out quickly, and then the next one stepped up with a box of packages of chewing gum. No problem, right?Then the cashier rang up one package of gum. The lady swiped her debit card, typed in her pin number and punched the cash back button. The cashier opened her drawer, counted out $100 to her, closed the drawer and handed her the receipt. Then she picked up another package of gum....After the third package, I couldn't help saying, "Are you ringing all those up separately?" (Maybe I should have kept my mouth closed, but this is the express checkout.) The cashier said, "This is the only way my supervisor said we could do this." and picked up the next package. By this time, there were several people behind me, and I'm looking around for another line. After 7 or 8 transactions, the customer finally realized that what she was doing was really holding things up and took what she had and left. The cashier told me she wanted $1900 from her debit card. I can't imagine assuming that the express lane at Walmart would have that much cash at once, or that doing 19 individual transactions in the express lane or any other lane. That's what banks are for. I guess it there could have been some kind of emergency, but the supervisor could have opened a lane to help her, or sent her to customer service.

She shouldn't have been holding up the line, but there may be logical reasons for what she did:

Maybe she wasn't near her bank and was trying to avoid the ATM fees. I know my dd's bank charges an ATM fee of $2.50 for any withdrawal transaction not part of their network. So when she was away at an internship, she often would go to the grocery or Walmart and buy some small needed item to make a cash withdrawal that way instead. When your'e a poor college student, $2.50 is a lot of money.

I don't know why she'd do that many transactions unless perhaps the store had a $110 cap on cash back from a debit card purchase.

SS in the 20 items or less lane at Walmart:I got in the line, and there were 2 people ahead of me. The first one checked out quickly, and then the next one stepped up with a box of packages of chewing gum. No problem, right?Then the cashier rang up one package of gum. The lady swiped her debit card, typed in her pin number and punched the cash back button. The cashier opened her drawer, counted out $100 to her, closed the drawer and handed her the receipt. Then she picked up another package of gum....After the third package, I couldn't help saying, "Are you ringing all those up separately?" (Maybe I should have kept my mouth closed, but this is the express checkout.) The cashier said, "This is the only way my supervisor said we could do this." and picked up the next package. By this time, there were several people behind me, and I'm looking around for another line. After 7 or 8 transactions, the customer finally realized that what she was doing was really holding things up and took what she had and left. The cashier told me she wanted $1900 from her debit card. I can't imagine assuming that the express lane at Walmart would have that much cash at once, or that doing 19 individual transactions in the express lane or any other lane. That's what banks are for. I guess it there could have been some kind of emergency, but the supervisor could have opened a lane to help her, or sent her to customer service.

She shouldn't have been holding up the line, but there may be logical reasons for what she did:

Maybe she wasn't near her bank and was trying to avoid the ATM fees. I know my dd's bank charges an ATM fee of $2.50 for any withdrawal transaction not part of their network. So when she was away at an internship, she often would go to the grocery or Walmart and buy some small needed item to make a cash withdrawal that way instead. When your'e a poor college student, $2.50 is a lot of money.

I don't know why she'd do that many transactions unless perhaps the store had a $110 cap on cash back from a debit card purchase.

But she was buying gum with each withdrawal, so it couldn't have been the $2 savings.

In any case, it should have been done at customer service. But that's more on WalMart than the woman.

SS in the 20 items or less lane at Walmart:I got in the line, and there were 2 people ahead of me. The first one checked out quickly, and then the next one stepped up with a box of packages of chewing gum. No problem, right?Then the cashier rang up one package of gum. The lady swiped her debit card, typed in her pin number and punched the cash back button. The cashier opened her drawer, counted out $100 to her, closed the drawer and handed her the receipt. Then she picked up another package of gum....After the third package, I couldn't help saying, "Are you ringing all those up separately?" (Maybe I should have kept my mouth closed, but this is the express checkout.) The cashier said, "This is the only way my supervisor said we could do this." and picked up the next package. By this time, there were several people behind me, and I'm looking around for another line. After 7 or 8 transactions, the customer finally realized that what she was doing was really holding things up and took what she had and left. The cashier told me she wanted $1900 from her debit card. I can't imagine assuming that the express lane at Walmart would have that much cash at once, or that doing 19 individual transactions in the express lane or any other lane. That's what banks are for. I guess it there could have been some kind of emergency, but the supervisor could have opened a lane to help her, or sent her to customer service.

She shouldn't have been holding up the line, but there may be logical reasons for what she did:

Maybe she wasn't near her bank and was trying to avoid the ATM fees. I know my dd's bank charges an ATM fee of $2.50 for any withdrawal transaction not part of their network. So when she was away at an internship, she often would go to the grocery or Walmart and buy some small needed item to make a cash withdrawal that way instead. When your'e a poor college student, $2.50 is a lot of money.

I don't know why she'd do that many transactions unless perhaps the store had a $110 cap on cash back from a debit card purchase.

But she was buying gum with each withdrawal, so it couldn't have been the $2 savings.

In any case, it should have been done at customer service. But that's more on WalMart than the woman.

I'm surprised it didn't occur to the cashier to turn off her light (you know, the one signaling that her lane is open?) so a line wouldn't build up behind SS.

I'm also surprised that the drawer would have over $1900 of cash to give to SS.

The $7000 was how much someone in the very highest tax bracket would owe to the IRS. The amount of taxes owed is based on your personal tax bracket. I'm a bit fuzzy on the details, but I chipped in about $250 towards her tax bill. Her mother chipped in more than I did. I think she owed around $1000 or so.

They had to sign a waiver when they got to set. The waiver did say that any prizes given on the show are subject to Local/State/Federal taxes. However, there was nothing that said that the donor could withhold the prize until you paid all applicable taxes. That's what people don't understand when they go on these shows.

When you get a gift/prize, the donor has to issue a W2, and the recipient has to complete a 1099-G so it's not like the IRS won't know that someone received a gift/prize. I think it's a bit of bait and switch on the part of the donors to withhold the prizes like that without telling people ahead of time.

The government wants its taxes, and it doesn't want to wait until April 15 the receive them as it needs money throughout the year to pay for things too. So the IRS must require that estimated taxes are paid for the prize when it is received otherwise it would have to wait until you filed your taxes. Also this way they are sure to get your tax money because you cannot get the item without paying estimated tax.

One of my very good friends (Beth) was taking an exercise class and had to keep checking her phone when she got texts. Complete Stranger (CS) got nosy:

CS: Hey, why do you keep checking your phone?

Beth: Oh, my son has special needs and the school has to be able to reach me if there's a problem.

CS (even though it was none of her business): What's wrong with him?

Beth (used to the question, even though people should know better) gave a quick rundown of his condition. Basically: it's rare, it's severe, it's degenerative, and it's terminal, and it causes a wide variety of problems. She's got a thirty-second spiel and most people are so stunned by the "terminal" part that they back off. Not CS.

CS gives Beth a wholly unsolicited hug, even though they're both sweaty from exercising and Beth is giving off "why the heck are you trying to touch me" vibes. Then says, "Oh honey, God has a plan for you and your son! Don't worry!"

Beth: (internally) What, is my son DYING part of this great plan? And how would you know? I'm pretty sure you get your own book of the Bible if you're in that direct contact! (out loud) *pointed silence*

CS (ignoring the obvious uncomfortable silence entirely): But why would the school be calling you?

Beth (wanting to get away from CS but can't because of the format of the class): Sometimes he has problems with his breathing, and they need to let me know if he's has an episode.

CS: Wow, I don't know if I agree with that! Why do they let kids like that go to school, anyway?

Beth told me she walked away before she hauled off and hit the lady . . . I know we don't normally condone violence here on eHell, but I can't say that I would have blamed her

I wouldn't have blamed her either, but glad she walked away. SS would have probably sued or something.

One of my very good friends (Beth) was taking an exercise class and had to keep checking her phone when she got texts. Complete Stranger (CS) got nosy:

CS: Hey, why do you keep checking your phone?

Beth: Oh, my son has special needs and the school has to be able to reach me if there's a problem.

CS (even though it was none of her business): What's wrong with him?

Beth (used to the question, even though people should know better) gave a quick rundown of his condition. Basically: it's rare, it's severe, it's degenerative, and it's terminal, and it causes a wide variety of problems. She's got a thirty-second spiel and most people are so stunned by the "terminal" part that they back off. Not CS.

CS gives Beth a wholly unsolicited hug, even though they're both sweaty from exercising and Beth is giving off "why the heck are you trying to touch me" vibes. Then says, "Oh honey, God has a plan for you and your son! Don't worry!"

Beth: (internally) What, is my son DYING part of this great plan? And how would you know? I'm pretty sure you get your own book of the Bible if you're in that direct contact! (out loud) *pointed silence*

CS (ignoring the obvious uncomfortable silence entirely): But why would the school be calling you?

Beth (wanting to get away from CS but can't because of the format of the class): Sometimes he has problems with his breathing, and they need to let me know if he's has an episode.

CS: Wow, I don't know if I agree with that! Why do they let kids like that go to school, anyway?

Beth told me she walked away before she hauled off and hit the lady . . . I know we don't normally condone violence here on eHell, but I can't say that I would have blamed her

I wouldn't have blamed her either, but glad she walked away. SS would have probably sued or something.

I would have told her that it's not her business from the get go. But had she gotten this far, no I would not have blamed anyone for putting the fear of whatever into her.

One of my very good friends (Beth) was taking an exercise class and had to keep checking her phone when she got texts. Complete Stranger (CS) got nosy:

CS: Hey, why do you keep checking your phone?

Beth: Oh, my son has special needs and the school has to be able to reach me if there's a problem.

CS (even though it was none of her business): What's wrong with him?

Beth (used to the question, even though people should know better) gave a quick rundown of his condition. Basically: it's rare, it's severe, it's degenerative, and it's terminal, and it causes a wide variety of problems. She's got a thirty-second spiel and most people are so stunned by the "terminal" part that they back off. Not CS.

CS gives Beth a wholly unsolicited hug, even though they're both sweaty from exercising and Beth is giving off "why the heck are you trying to touch me" vibes. Then says, "Oh honey, God has a plan for you and your son! Don't worry!"

Beth: (internally) What, is my son DYING part of this great plan? And how would you know? I'm pretty sure you get your own book of the Bible if you're in that direct contact! (out loud) *pointed silence*

CS (ignoring the obvious uncomfortable silence entirely): But why would the school be calling you?

Beth (wanting to get away from CS but can't because of the format of the class): Sometimes he has problems with his breathing, and they need to let me know if he's has an episode.

CS: Wow, I don't know if I agree with that! Why do they let kids like that go to school, anyway?

Beth told me she walked away before she hauled off and hit the lady . . . I know we don't normally condone violence here on eHell, but I can't say that I would have blamed her

I wouldn't have blamed her either, but glad she walked away. SS would have probably sued or something.

I would have told her that it's not her business from the get go. But had she gotten this far, no I would not have blamed anyone for putting the fear of whatever into her.

This reminds me of a thing I saw online earlier in the week (I half hope it's fake...) when a woman with a disabled child received an anonymous letter demanding that she move away because her child was "scaring all the other children", and what was she thinking trying to let her son have a normal life, didn't she know that once his parents died no one would be willing to look after him. The letter ended with a suggestion that she may as well "put her son out of his misery" and also repeatedly referred to the poor woman's son as an animal. And this is the scrubbed version - the letter itself is a vile thing full of hate and bile.